This 2ft gauge railway ran for 7 miles between Clay Cross, on the LMS Derby-Chesterfield line, to Ashover in Derbyshire. Opened in 1924 for goods, it was owned by the Clay Cross company and mainly carried granite railway ballast, although passenger services were introduced in 1925. The Colonel was the line’s engineer, suggesting the gauge because ex-WW1 railway materials to this specification were readily available via his army contacts. The line closed to passengers in 1936 and throughout in 1950.